Page 86 of The Doctor's Irreplaceable Love

Shelley sat back in her chair and smiled at Jim.“You realize that I’m not even licensed in the state of Montana yet, don’t you?”

He winked at her.“Aye, I’m aware.I also know that there’s not many who are licensed here that I’d trust with knowing my business like this.”

“I’m honored that you trust me.Do you want to take some more time to think it over before you share anything too personal with me?”

“I don’t.I know what I’m doing, and while I appreciate you looking out for my interests, it’s not necessary.I know the general idea of how I want to set things up.I’ll need you to advise me on the best way to do it.I want to make sure that it’s all watertight—that no one can contest it or try to undo it after I’m gone.”

“Of course.”She smiled.“That was my specialty.”

“Is your specialty,” he corrected her.

She gave him a puzzled look.“Have you checked me out?”

“I have.As you’d expect me to.I’m not talking about leaving a couple of trinkets to pretty girls and a field full of heifers to my old friend.This here’s one of the largest ranches in the valley.It doesn’t come close to the biggest in the state in terms of size, but when you get to looking at the value of the land…”

He slid a folder across the table toward her and nodded for her to open it.

She inhaled sharply when she saw the land valuation on the top sheet.She stared at the number, then looked back up at Jim—suddenly seeing not just the sweet, gruff old rancher, but a man with serious legacy decisions on his hands.

Jim smiled.“Have a flick through them papers and you’ll get a better idea of why I need you.”He chuckled.“And maybe you’ll understand a bit better why young Deacon gets so twitchy when he thinks anyone might be trying to take advantage of me.”

His smile faded.“Used to be that I was the one who got all protective toward other folks—now I’m just the old geezer who needs looking out for.”

Shelley looked up at him.“Now, that’s not true, and you know it.I might be a newcomer, but I saw the way everyone was with you one Friday.You’re not some old guy they’re trying to look after.Yes, they feel protective toward you, but that’s because they respect you and… I’d say that every single one of them loves you.”

He gave her a small smile.“Aye, I reckon you’re right.And thanks for calling me out—I need it sometimes.So, it’s good to know you’ll do it.”

“I will.If you decide that you want to work with me after we’ve had our chat, then I’m going to be helping you make some big decisions.I won’t be holding back; I’ll be giving you my honest opinion—about your options and your choices.”

She smiled.“I’m mostly mild-mannered—but I don’t pull any punches when it comes to my clients and my work.”

“I’ve already decided that I want to work with you.I wouldn’t have shown you that if I wasn’t certain.And I know you’re not all outgoing like your friend, Harper.I wouldn’t want to work with you if you were.I admire you for entirely different reasons.And now we’re clear on that, where do we start?”

Shelley looked down at the folder again.Jim’s estate was going to be one of the biggest she’d ever worked on.

“Like I said, I need to make sure that Icanwork for you first of all.We don’t want to leave your estate open to challenges because of an unlicensed lawyer!”

“Aye, you’ll look into that—but if it’s an issue, we can have someone local sign off on what we decide.”

“Okay.And you don’t currently have even a will?You’ve never done any estate planning or…?”

He rubbed his cheek against his shoulder.“See, that’s the thing.I do have a will in place, but I need to change it.”

She waited, wondering what he was about to say.She was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that the sweet old rancher she’d gotten to know and like over the last few months was actually one of the wealthiest men she’d ever met.

Jim took a sip of his coffee.“You know we never had kids of our own.But we had brothers and sisters, Kitty and me.We had one of each.”

He stared out the window at the mountains for a long moment before turning back to her.“I never thought I’d outlive the lot of ’em.But I have.The way things have worked out, if I kick the bucket tomorrow, my nephew will get everything.

“We had it set up as a family succession deal—you know, if she died first, it all went to me, and the same if I’d gone first.With us both gone, it went equally between the brothers and sisters.With them gone, all that was left were my nephew Gavin and Kitty’s niece Elaine.

“She was a good girl, Elaine.I wouldn’t have minded her getting the lot, but her time came too soon.”He shook his head sadly.“I never think of women having heart attacks, but she did.She was only fifty-three.”

He blew out a sigh.“Forgive me rambling.The point is, Gavin’s the only one left now, and I don’t want that devious little weasel getting his hands on any of it—let alone all of it.”

She hadn’t met Gavin, but if Jim’s instincts were right—and she expected that they were—she’d be ready to fight like hell to keep him off the land.

“And do you know who you do want your beneficiary—or beneficiaries—to be?”

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